


Lance's Questions

by Mic_RiddyBanon



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Team
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-09
Updated: 2014-06-23
Packaged: 2018-02-04 01:23:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 19,090
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1761719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mic_RiddyBanon/pseuds/Mic_RiddyBanon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lance is being driven mad by all questions going round in his head. Questions that have only got worse since Sara returned. This is my take on how he deals with those puzzles and works through them. Will result in a reveal fic - as I think that not enough of these have been done. Goes on to Lance becoming involved in the team & then going to them for help too. Now complete! Enjoy!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Wonderings

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Rennie75](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rennie75/gifts).



> Lance's Questions
> 
> Chapter 1 - Wonderings
> 
> AN: OK so here is the start of my second fic, for those of you who've read my first 'Questions' you may notice that there seems to be a bit of theme running through here. Each story is a complete stand-alone though and does not relate to the other – despite the name and questioning theme.
> 
> AN2: Purely as a note of formatting Lance's notes that are scribbled down are in bold type in bullet points. His thoughts on those notes are in italics. Hope that reads ok.
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Arrow or any of the characters whatsoever. CW owns it all.

_**Lance's POV** _

Lance couldn't stand puzzles and this one had been bugging him more than anything else for a while now. Instead of getting closer to figuring it out though the puzzle had just got worse. He was  _sure_  that if he could just sit down and work it all through without interruptions for once he would be able to work it out – the answers were just  _there_ , just out of his reach. He knew he wasn't going to get any sleep tonight until he worked through it. Maybe if he wrote all down, like a case, then it would make more sense and the answers he was searching for would reveal themselves. Couldn't hurt, after all nothing else he'd tried so far had worked.

He got his case notebook out, but it was the personal one he kept for his private case notes, things that weren't part of the official investigations and started to write things down.

**\- Sara works with Arrow.**

**\- Arrow knew who Sara Lance was.**   _It was clear that the Arrow hadn't been surprised by Sara calling him in._

**\- Arrow can contact Sara.** _The Arrow had been able to contact Sara even though he, her own father, hadn't been able to._

**\- Sara trusts Arrow to fight.** _Sara trusted him and didn't worry about needing to keep him safe. So that meant she knew he could fight, really fight – like her. Heck I know the Arrow could fight, I've seen evidence of it enough times!_

**\- Sara trusts Arrow with identity.** _Sara had also trusted the Arrow with her real identity before it had been revealed to anyone else. Yet even though he knew she was Sara Lance he hadn't been surprised she was alive._

**\- Arrow not surprised Sara alive.** _Everyone in Starling City knew Sara had died when that damn yacht had sunk though, right? So why had the Arrow not seemed surprised she was alive? For that matter just how long had the Arrow known that Sara was alive?_

**\- Arrow knew Sara fights, kills.** _The Arrow hadn't been surprised by Sara's abilities, or her willingness to kill. But the Arrow had been worried about her killing in front of him. That meant he cared about her, right?_

**\- Oliver not surprised Sara alive?** _Oliver Queen was another person who hadn't seemed surprised that Sara was alive. Oh sure he'd tried to act surprised - but Oliver's acting wasn't up to much and Lance had always been good at telling when that kid was lying, or so he'd thought..._

**\- Oliver knew Sara alive?** _So did that mean that Oliver had already known; if so how had he known, and for how long?_

**\- Oliver lied – Sara not dead.** _Yet Oliver had said Sara had died. Why? Had Oliver believed that? Or had he always been covering for her?_

**\- Oliver & Sara yacht, island. ** _Both Oliver and Sara had survived the yacht, that island?_

**\- Oliver & Sara dating. ** _Oliver and Sara were already back together (much to Laurel's horror, and he had to admit he wasn't particularly impressed either). But it didn't seem like they had only been back together the week or so it had been since Sara had officially been 'back'._

**\- Sara not worried Oliver's safety.** _If Sara had kept being alive from him because of fears for his safety, and Oliver had known, then why wasn't she worried about Oliver's safety? It was clear she still cared for Oliver so why wouldn't she worry about her boyfriend's safety._

Boyfriend huh, hmm, Lance still wasn't sure how he felt about that either for that matter! Mind you, he did have to admit he now referred to the kid as 'Oliver' even in his own thoughts, instead of 'Queen' like he always used to.

This was not helping, every question or point he wrote down seemed to raise more questions of its own. Lance sighed, he was close to giving up but decided he would take a break and then give it one more try first. He went and got a coffee figuring he was going to need the caffeine, and stood at the window thinking over everything he'd written down trying to see if a pattern would make itself clear.

Maybe if he tried comparing his notes something would stand out. Was there anything similar between the points he'd made? Lance looked back over them comparing and finding more and more similar points as he went, much to his surprise.

Both the Arrow and Oliver seemed to know Sara was alive before anyone else had. That meant she hadn't worried about the safety of either. Clearly there was no need to worry about the Arrow's safety, that guy was more than capable of taking care of himself. But Oliver Queen? It was also clear that Oliver had been less than honest about what had really happened when that yacht had gone down. Sara hadn't been willing to expand on those five years either, so Oliver wasn't the only one being reluctant or less than honest here.

He already knew that the island hadn't been deserted like Oliver had told everyone. After all, you don't get tortured on a deserted island and Lance would never forget the look on Oliver's face or the tension in his body during that polygraph when he'd forced the kid into admitting  _how_  he'd got those scars. Truth be told he'd been more than a little shaken by that admission himself.

The polygraph, that had only happened because Lance had been so certain that Oliver was the Vigilante, or the Arrow as he wanted to be called now. He'd only backed down because the Vigilante/Arrow had been seen across town while Oliver was at his Mansion throwing that stupid party. Though, when he thought about it, Lance realised that the Arrow had only been  _seen_. Sure some gang-bangers had been taken down, but there had been a dinstinct lack of arrows at the crime scene he seemed to recall. Something he hadn't picked up on at the time.

However, Lance hadn't known that the Arrow worked with others back then either. Now he knew, even if he couldn't prove it, that Miss Smoak worked with him, and he definitely knew that Sara worked with him too. Miss Smoak also worked for Oliver, in fact she always seemed to be with him despite the fact that she insisted she wasn't sleeping with him like the rumors claimed. He couldn't help thinking  _Oliver better not be sleeping with her while he's dating my daughter!_

Lance's mind went back to the polygraph again and Oliver's admission of torture. He'd known that  _something_  must have caused the scars in that doctor's report, but still, torture? That was the last thing he'd expected to hear.  _What the hell would anyone want to torture the kid about anyway?_  He suddenly realised that nobody else had ever mentioned it, or the scars. When you thought about how much the kid was in the papers, and that the paparazzi were all over him (especially since he'd returned from the dead), it was pretty impressive that Oliver had managed to keep something that big completely hidden.  _Maybe the kid was better at acting than I thought after all..._

Lance refilled his coffee cup before going and sitting back down at the table and looked back over his notes. He sighed, taking a deep breath, before picking up the threads of his thoughts again.

Sara wasn't worried about Oliver's safety. Oliver had survived torture and five years on a not-so-deserted island. Sara had learnt to fight, had learnt some truly amazing skills that had stunned him truth be told, in her five years away. So if she'd learnt to fight in that time, did that mean that Oliver had too?

Why had Oliver told everyone Sara had died, had gone down with the yacht? He  _must_  have had a reason to do that. Queen (as he thought of pre-island Oliver) might have done that just to make things easier for himself, he had been too selfish to care about anyone else, but Oliver? Lance just couldn't reconcile that selfishness with the Oliver he'd come to know and - though he'd never admit it to anyone - grudgingly respect since his return. So, if he  _had_ known that Sara was alive - and Lance now thought Oliver probably had known - then there must have been a very good reason for doing so. Sara had made Lance keep it a secret to protect the rest of their family and it had been the hardest thing he'd ever done. If Oliver had kept it a secret for that long then he was a  _far_  better actor than Lance had ever given him credit for.  _So what else has he been hiding?_

Did that mean that Oliver could fight too? Did they both learn on Lian Yu? Is that why Sara wasn't/hadn't been worried about Oliver's safety with that whole League thing? If Lance was right, and Oliver could fight too, did that mean that he really was the Arrow? Could Oliver be the Arrow after all?

If Oliver  _was,_  then did that mean he had set-up the whole thing with that other(?) Vigilante being seen whilst he had a hundred witnesses, not to mention the GPS tracker confirming his location at the Mansion?  _Was I right all along?_  You couldn't deny that the Arrow had shown up shortly after Oliver's return; and when Oliver had disappeared after the destruction of the Glades the Arrow had also disappeared.

No. He couldn't be, because that would mean that he'd pulled the wool over Lance's eyes –  _after_  he'd been on the right track!  _Arghh, this is driving me mad!_  Much as he was loath to admit it the evidence was looking more and more like  _Oliver Queen was the Arrow_. Could that really be?

Lance realised he had come as far as he could on his own. He decided that he needed to speak with Sara; he needed answers to all these questions, she owed him that much after everything they'd been through and him agreeing to keep her secret for those months until she was ready.  _Time for Sara to answer some questions,_  he thought grimly.


	2. Interrogations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Thank you to those who have already left kudos, I am so grateful to you! As ever I am utterly grateful to Rennie75 for continuing to be such a fab friend & beta, she makes my work make sense - all mistakes are mine however.
> 
> Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me except my mistakes lol. CW owns Arrow. I'm only playing

_Lance realised he had come as far as he could on his own. He decided that he needed to speak with Sara; he needed answers to all these questions, she owed him that much after everything they'd been through and him agreeing to keep her secret for those months until she was ready. Time for Sara to answer some questions._

**Lance's POV**

Lance was relieved when Sara showed up at the Chinese restaurant. He hadn't been completely sure that she would show when he'd told her they needed to talk – in private. He'd suggested that location as it had been their place to meet before she'd been willing to let anyone else know she was back, she was alive even. He figured that as she'd chosen it to start with then she might feel safe enough there to talk a bit more freely.

"Sara, thank you for coming honey. I wasn't completely sure you would show."

"You said we needed to talk?" Sara queried warily. Lance guessed he should have expected that wariness. Even now she was looking around watching, calculating escape routes or something he supposed.

"Yeah, listen Sara honey. I've been thinking, truth be told I've been doing nothing but thinking for the past few weeks." He was trying to keep his tone light but firm, but wasn't sure he was succeeding.

"About?"

"You … and the Arrow … and Oliver Queen." He wasn't imagining it, Sara had tensed the minute he had mentioned the Arrow and that tension had got worse the second he mentioned Oliver's name in the same sentence.

"What about them?"

 _Sara is better at this light tone thing than I am_ , a tiny part of his brain registered. Okay, so much for hoping that Sara would slip up and say 'him' instead of 'them'. But then he supposed she had lived for the past six odd years by her wits and been a part of this League of Assassins, expecting her to slip up so easily was pretty unrealistic. Lance had to keep reminding himself that he wasn't interrogating some two bit petty criminal. This was his daughter – and yet not.

"Like I said, I've been thinking. Trying to work things out really. I've got questions and I know you've said before that it wasn't the time for questions, but it's different now. Sara I need to know the answers to these, you can't keep putting me off. I kept your secret for you and it was the hardest thing I've  _ever_  done. Well now I need your help, I need you to explain some things."

"What things Dad?"

Lance was lost for words, didn't know how to continue.  _This is ridiculous, I interrogate murderers and drug dealers all this time, yet I can't ask my own daughter a few questions without getting stuck?_  He settled instead for getting out his notebook and opening it to the page where he'd written all his notes.

"These things." Lance said simply sliding the notebook over the counter to Sara. He went silent giving her time to read it and the expanded notes he'd now written next to each point. Lance knew she'd need time to process it, and to figure out what she was going to say in response. He stayed quiet, watching her face for any subtle clues she might give away.  _After all, even the most skilled operative gives things away sometimes when they're surprised._  He was a Detective after all, even if he didn't currently hold that rank that didn't mean that all his training disappeared. He'd always prided himself on being good at reading body language – a skill that had come in  _very_  handy with two teenage daughters.

Lance wasn't sure if he was annoyed, relieved, or proud, when Sara gave away nothing whatsoever though. He figured that his best move was to  _not_  make a move, but just stay silent and wait her out. After a few minutes had passed in complete silence he started to realise that whilst waiting it out might work with most of the criminals he dealt with, Sara was a completely different matter and to be honest she could probably wait  _him_ out. Apparently a totally different rule book applied when dealing with Sara now than it did had when before she had gone on that damned boat trip.

Eventually Sara looked up at him; she was gauging his face, his body language, he realised.  _So much for me being the one reading the body language._

"Is this what you think Dad? That Oliver is the Arrow?

Trust Sara to get straight to the point. It hadn't taken Lance long at all to realise that the Sara who came back to him had little intention with messing around ever and now tended to come straight out with things – regardless of how uncomfortable that might be. None of his bullet points actually said that he thought Oliver was the Arrow, but that was still the end result of all his questionings. It had taken him hours, weeks if he was honest, to figure that much out. Yet Sara had come to that in a matter of minutes.  _Is that because it's true, Oliver_ is _the Arrow – and Sara knows that?_

If Sara was going to answer his questions with ones of her own instead of giving him a straight answer, then he had no intention of giving her one either.  _Two can play at that game!_

"Is he?" Lance queried. "Is that why you trust the Arrow, trust Oliver, so completely? Why you don't seem to be concerned about  _his_  safety?"

"Can you give me a minute Dad, there's someone I need to speak to?" Sara said, but although she'd phrased it as a question it was clear to Lance it was anything but. Sara got up and, saying something in Chinese  _(W_ _here did she learn Chinese anyway?)_ to the owners, she walked out the back of the restaurant getting out her cell as she went.

Barely a few minutes later she returned. "Dad, I understand all these questions you have, but they aren't mine to answer." He wasn't certain but thought that a flicker of concern passed over Sara's face for the barest fraction of a second. Whilst Lance wasn't all that happy with what she'd said, he couldn't help but be proud of her loyalty to the people (person?) in her life.

"So … I have arranged a meeting for you later this evening, with the Arrow." Sara said with a hint of hesitation in her voice.  _Was she unsure of whatever it was she had planned?_

"Sara, honey it's not the first time I've met the Arrow, you know that." Lance said unsure as to what his daughter was actually planning.

"No, but it will be the first time that you've met him without the voice changer on." Sara replied.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN2: Don't forget to follow/fav/review & let me know what you think please, good or bad! Thank you!


	3. Suspense

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Thank you to everyone who's followed, faved, left kudos, and/or reviewed. Rennie75 I know this is slightly different to how you last saw it but I'm hoping you'll approve lol. Thanks for being the best beta ever!
> 
> Thoughts are in italics as always :-)
> 
> Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me, CW owns Arrow. I'm only playing.

" _No, but it will be the first time that you've met him without the voice changer on." Sara replied._

**Lance's POV**

Lance was waiting for Sara outside Verdant as she'd told him to before leaving the Chinese restaurant abruptly that afternoon, having refused to expand any more on this meeting with the Arrow. He didn't mind admitting he was a bit apprehensive about the whole thing truth be told.

"Sorry I'm late Dad, something came up." Sara said slightly breathlessly, making him jump as she'd appeared right behind him seemingly from thin air.

"Why did you want to meet here?" Lance asked.

"You wanted to talk to the Arrow properly right? Well this is the best place to do that."

A club? How could a club be the best place to actually talk to anybody was beyond him, but if that was what the Arrow and Sara wanted then he wasn't going to argue. No way was he going to mess up the chance to get some proper answers. He still couldn't quite believe this was actually going to happen. He'd never really expected Sara to answer him, at best he'd hoped that she'd give something away which would help him to put another puzzle piece in place.

"We're not going in that entrance Dad" Sara said before leading him away from the front of the club and down a side alley. She stopped at a door he hadn't even seen was there and then paused with her fingers hovering over a hidden code pad.

"Before we go in I need you to promise me something..." Sara looked him straight in the eyes with an intensity he couldn't escape even if he'd wanted to. "... you have to listen, really listen to everything and not make any judgments until after you've heard him out okay!"

"Okay" Lance replied warily.

"Not only that, you have to promise, you have to give me your word that you will never reveal any of what you see or find out."

"Sara..."

"I'm serious Dad, if you can't give me your word then we are not going in and this is not happening." Sara sounded more serious than he'd ever heard her apart from when she was talking about the League of Assassins. Her tone made it clear that there were absolutely no other options.

"Okay, okay." Sara was clearly unconvinced so Lance continued. "You have my word Sara, I won't say anything."

Sara glared at him for a few more seconds before turning back and entering the code. The door opened with a solid clunk.  _Apparently there was one heck of a lock on that door!_  She led the way in and they went along and down a flight of metal stairs. He was bemused, this led into the club basement didn't it?  _The basement which I already searched while investigating the resurgence of Vertigo?_

Lance decided it was best to not say anything however and just continued to follow his daughter. He was right it was the same basement – and yet he could instantly see it was anything  _but_  the same! In front of him was what was clearly a base of operations – for the Arrow going by the weaponry and the costume in the display case.

His eyes were occupied in taking in everything on view, the weaponry and an area where the arrows and the rest of his arsenal were clearly made, an amazing computer set-up, what looked like a medical area. Yet at the same time he was distracted by the sound of metal bars clanging against each other rapid and hard from the sound of it. As he came down off the stairs and took a few steps forward he could see two guys fighting with the batons. It was clear they were training, just sparring, yet it was faster than any training he'd ever seen before – and most actual fights too for that matter. It was because of that speed that he couldn't see them properly either, they never stayed still long enough to be able to catch more than glimpses of their faces.

Both men were clearly incredibly fit and yet the bigger guy – who was built like a brick house – didn't have the upper hand surprisingly enough. Instead the one with his back to Lance was clearly the superior fighter. Lance couldn't help but be shocked by the sight of his back though. It was covered in horrific scars and burns.  _Burns, didn't that medical report say Oliver's back had second degree burns as well as all those scars?_

"So do they look worse than you expected Detective?" Oliver said without even pausing in his sparring. They'd been really quiet coming in, Oliver hadn't even looked round, and Sara hadn't said a word, yet he had known they were there, that  _he_  was there, how?

 _Oliver? He_ is _the Arrow?_  It was one thing to have suspected it in the past and have queries about it now – but completely another to have his theories confirmed Lance realised. "Oliver?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN2: OK I know this was a shorter chapter than my normal and I'm sorry, but the next one is back to normal and will be up tomorrow, promise. Please let me know what you think, thanks! :)


	4. Confrontations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Here it is, the actual confrontation, hope you like it! Thanks for your support, it means the world to me! Rennie75 is the great beta who keeps this all running together so thank you as ever Rennie!
> 
> AN2: Hope you like the actual reveal conversations, please let me know what you thought of it? :)
> 
> Disclaimer: You know the deal by now, it still doesn't belong to me, CW owns Arrow.

_Oliver? He is_   _the Arrow?_ _It was one thing to have suspected it in the past and have queries about it now – but completely another to have his theories confirmed Lance realised. "Oliver?"_

**_Lance's POV_ **

Oliver landed a couple more blows on the bigger guy before stopping and coming over to the table behind the computers.

"Yes Detective it's me, I'm the Arrow, but then you already knew that. Sara told me about your notes."

Lance looked at Oliver but despite all his questions he couldn't help but be drawn to the sight of all the scars on Oliver's body. He'd read the doctor's report, he'd even seen Oliver's face when he'd admitted to the torture. Yet still he had never expected this, this tale of pain and horror that had literally been carved into the kid's skin. Much to his surprise Oliver didn't turn away or even object to his staring, but just stood there allowing him to look.

"What the  _hell_  happened to you on that island?"

"I told you, I was tortured." Oliver replied matter of factly. Without even looking he'd grabbed the batons back off the table and threw them to Sara, fast.

"Come on John, time for a real match." Sara said challengingly.  _John, wait John Diggle? Oliver's bodyguard?_   Now that he'd stopped moving around so fast Lance realised that the other guy was indeed John Diggle. Well that made sense as to why he was always around Oliver he supposed, they were working together. After all, the Arrow had to be the  _last_  person in the world who needed a bodyguard – except maybe Sara he realised, watching her sparring at just as fast a pace, if not faster than the blows he'd seen Oliver and Diggle exchanging.

"It's okay Detective, Sara is the better fighter and won't be hurt, trust me." Oliver said answering the concerns that he hadn't even voiced.  _Great, now I gotta add mind-reader to the list of the kid's skills?!_

"Hey!" Diggle replied trying but failing to sound offended. It was clear that Oliver was right though, Sara  _was_  the superior fighter, and yet he'd thought that Diggle was ex Special Forces or something? It was fast becoming clear that who dominated their sparring had nothing to do with simple size or strength, but instead was all about speed – and Sara was moving so fast she was practically a blur.

"Sara said you had questions." Oliver prompted bringing Lance back to the reason he'd actually come here in the first place.

"Yeah, like where the hell did you learn to fight like that? Where'd you learn to shoot? Are you in this League thing too, is that why Sara wasn't worried about you knowing who she was? More importantly, why did you lie about Sara dying when the boat went down?"

"I learned a lot in those five years, most of it on the Island. It's not something I like to talk about." Oliver said with the slightest hint of sorrow and pain in his voice.

"Understatement of the year." Diggle muttered in the background before exclaiming in pain himself; Sara had clearly landed a particularly hard blow on him.

"Gotta stay focused John." Sara said with a hint of a laugh in her voice.

Lance turned back to Oliver just in time to see the corner of a smile on his face too. A real smile, not those fake ones he was always giving in public.

"I learned to shoot on the Island. That's where I learnt most of what I know about fighting."

" _Most_  of it on the island,  _most_  of what you know about fighting?" Lance queried repeating Oliver's words back to him. "So if only most then does that mean you weren't actually on the island the whole time?"

"No I'm not in the League of Assassins, in fact I'd never actually heard of it until Sara came back to Starling City." Oliver continued answering Lance's previous questions but completely ignoring the ones he had just raised.  _Suppose it was too much to hope he'd answer everything._

"Sara knew what I was capable of, she knows I can look after myself. I've taken down a member of the League before, even if I didn't know they were a part of it at the time."

"And nearly died in the process from what I hear." Sara interjected. Oliver glared at Diggle who just shrugged in response.

"Nothing new there Sara, besides, I'm not that easy to kill." Despite the words, it was clear that Oliver wasn't actually bragging.

"I didn't mean to hurt your family Detective Lance. I knew that Sara didn't go down with the yacht, but I  _did_  think she was dead. I saw no need for you to know all that she went through before she died – or at least before I thought she died." He finished with a sideways glance at Sara. This time it was her turn to shrug in response.

Lance stayed quiet, thinking about that for a few minutes before nodding finally. He might not agree with Oliver having kept these secrets, but he could see the kid had been trying to spare him and his family more pain and he couldn't argue with that. He also realised that Oliver was calling him 'Detective' as the Arrow had always done even though he wasn't one anymore, and not 'Mr Lance' like Oliver did in public. Lance decided grudgingly that it was a sign of respect.

"Was she tortured too? I know she has some scars." Lance asked quietly, not wanting Sara to hear. He wasn't sure he wanted to hear the answer either, but had to ask. He'd seen the scars on her arms as well as one on the back of her leg and whilst they were nothing like what he'd now seen of Oliver's  _I know he said torture but it must have been beyond bad to cause_ that _!_ … well, he still needed to know.

"Sara wasn't with me when I was first tortured on Lian Yu. I thought she was dead then. As to what she's been through, that's not for me to answer Detective." Lance nodded acknowledging Oliver's words. He couldn't help noticing that Oliver has just given a very similar answer to the one Sara had given him earlier; and was both impressed by and appreciative of the loyalty Oliver was showing his daughter in not giving away her secrets even now when they were in this secret base.

"So if you thought she was dead when did you find out she was alive? I saw you two fighting together against the Dollmaker so don't tell me that's when you found out because you quite clearly already knew. The way you two fought together it, it, it was obvious you knew exactly how the other fought and there's no way that was the first time you'd done it!"

"Actually that  _was_  the first time we'd fought together in a long time. I only found out that the Canary was Sara a week or so before the Dollmaker attacked. The Canary saved me when Laurel set up a trap for the Arrow at the DA's Offices, but I didn't know it was Sara then."

"So if she didn't know it was you why'd she help you instead of her own sister?" Lance asked somewhat annoyed.

"Because I did know it was him, he just didn't know it was me." Sara answered for him. "There's not many people that can handle a bow like that – even in the League – and I'd know that hood anywhere." She finished smiling at Oliver.

The hood? Wait how did that come into it? The Vigilante/Arrow had only appeared after Oliver had returned to Starling (obviously) he'd never been seen anywhere else first. So if Sara had recognized the hood where had she recognized it from?  _Great, more questions!_ For that matter  _why was_  Oliver the Arrow?

"So why do you do all this ..." Lance waved his hand round vaguely trying to encompass the whole Arrow thing.

"I made a promise. My father, before he died, he told me he wasn't the man I thought he was. He said that he'd failed this city and asked me, begged me, to right his wrongs and then he shot himself."

His father shot himself? Was anything Oliver had said when he came back true? "I thought you said he went down with the boat too?

"My father and a crew member made it to a life-raft, they dragged me out of the water but we couldn't find anybody else. There wasn't enough water for all of us so my father shot the crew member and then himself so that I could survive. I didn't see that there was anything to be gained from telling people they survived the sinking only to die the next day."

Again Lance could see Oliver's point. But if Sara hadn't made it onto the rescue craft how had she survived?

"I thought that Sara was dead too then. But if you want to know what happened to her then you need to ask her."  _Again with the mind-reading?!_

"My father, my parents, are responsible for a lot of the things that are wrong with this city. I have a duty to do something about that, to put things right."

He might not agree with Oliver's methods all the time, but he  _had_  tried to stop killing and he couldn't fault the kid's dedication. Despite the new questions that had been raised, truth be told he was surprised by the amount of answers Oliver  _had_  given, especially considering everything he had done to  _prevent_  him finding out his identity up 'til now.

If he was honest with himself, that was bemusing him more than anything else, why had Oliver suddenly decided to come clean?  _There_ had  _to be more to do with it than just Sara asking!_


	5. The Lee Brothers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to all of you who have left kudos or commented! Thanks also go most of all to Rennie75 who has kept me going and focused, you are a wonderful friend my dear!
> 
> If you like it please be kind enough to comment/leave kudos, thank you!!
> 
> Disclaimer: Sigh, still doesn't belong to me, CW owns Arrow. I'm only playing. (Rennie we need that lottery win!)

_If he was honest with himself, that was bemusing him more than anything else, why had Oliver suddenly decided to come clean? There had to be more to do with it than just Sara asking!_

_**Lance's POV** _

Despite all the new questions finding out that Oliver was the Arrow had raised, Lance had been unable to get any more answers. Apparently that one Q&A session was all that Oliver was prepared to do. Lance was willing to accept that – for now at least anyway. He was still bothered about  _why_  Oliver had agreed to reveal his identity, to answer those questions, but had discovered enough now about Oliver, in both of his identities, to know that if the kid didn't want to answer something then you weren't going to get that answer out of him.

The only thing Lance had been able to find out was that Oliver intended for Lance to work closer with their Team and help them out more, much like they had worked together for the Dollmaker case. Something that Lance decided he was willing to do, much to his own surprise in many ways. SCPD just couldn't handle things currently and whatever help they could get was a good thing and worth taking – so long as Oliver kept trying to not drop any more bodies!  _And Sara too for that matter!_  Lance couldn't help adding to himself as he was forced to admit that his daughter had dropped more bodies than the Arrow had recently.

Apart from passing more information on to the Team though, things had continued much as before. Lance had found himself changing subjects a few times when people had noted that Oliver seemed to have a habit of disappearing from or not showing up to events around the same time that Arrow would be spotted elsewhere in the city. Thankfully, the fact that Oliver had already been cleared of being the Vigilante played in their favour. Much as it annoyed Lance to do so in many ways, he had found himself reminding other officers that he'd already been found completely wrong when he'd gone down that line the previous year.  _Wrong huh, yeah right!_ Lance knew and accepted how important it was for Oliver's identity to remain secret – and Sara's too for that matter, for if one was discovered then the other would be too.

Things had changed drastically however a few weeks later when an old adversary of Lance's had resurfaced. Lance had turned up at the lair without warning and had run down the stairs only to stop abruptly when faced with a gun and a bow aimed directly at him.  _Apparently being given the code still doesn't mean I can enter without warning or identifying myself!_

"Warning would be a good idea next time Detective." Oliver said calmly as he lowered his bow and Diggle turned to holster his gun.

Lance jumped barely a millisecond later when he heard a noise right behind him and turned to see Sara on the stairs collapsing her bo staff.  _Where the heck did she come from?_

"Sorry Dad, we heard you coming but the way you were racing put us all on edge and we had to be sure that you weren't under duress." Sara said explaining their reactions.

Lance took a few shaky breaths trying to get his adrenaline back under control. Their response to his entrance had shaken him more than he wanted to admit.

"So, where's the fire Detective?" Felicity queried coming back out from behind wherever the heck it was she'd been hiding. He had already known she was involved from right before the Undertaking, but hadn't known until Sara had brought him into the lair just  _how_  involved she was.

"I need your help. The Lee brothers are back." Lance looked at Sara as he spoke, hoping she would remember who they were.

"No!" Sara said angrily. "Dad what happened?"

"Who are the Lee brothers?" Oliver interrupted before Lance could answer Sara.

"A few years ago I put away Shane and Devin Lee, serial killer brothers who captured and killed single mothers by threatening their kindergarten age children. I caught them just as they were about to kill their last victim and they promised they would be back to kill not only her but everyone involved in their capture."

"Including you." Oliver queried.

"Including me" Lance confirmed. "But that's not what's important, their last victim and her child need protecting Oliver and I can't do it alone." He said pleading for their help.

"Isn't that a job for Witness Protection?" Diggle asked.

"Dad was the one who relocated them and gave them a new life, new identities. Witness Protection had a leak and so they stayed with us for a few days whilst Dad found them somewhere to go. They didn't trust anyone else after they were discovered and nearly killed." Sara explained for him much to Lance's relief. It had been years ago now, but the look on their faces – the sheer terror followed by relief - when he had rescued them for the second time had always stayed with him.

"How did they get out?" Lance was glad that instead of querying the history further Oliver was getting straight down to business.

"They were in Iron Heights." He responded.

"Were there any prisoners who  _didn't_  escape that place in the quake?!" Diggle murmured under his breath but still audibly.

"Guess not." Even though it wasn't really a question Felicity had answered him anyway.

"Do you have any idea where they are now? How did you find out they'd escaped? Do you know where their victim and her child are now? Does anyone else know their location?" Oliver's questions came hard and fast.

"No, I found this letter in my mail today, yes, and no." Lance replied to each question in turn as he handed the letter to Felicity who'd held her hand out pushing past Oliver's hand. It had taken Lance very little time to figure out that even if Oliver was the Arrow, nobody argued with Felicity and crossing her was something none of them were willing to do apparently. He didn't know  _why_  that was yet - but if the Arrow, an ex Special Forces guy, and a former member of the League of Assassins didn't want to cross Felicity then he figured he didn't want to either!

"Short and to the point, "We're coming for you, time to keep our promise", I'll scan it to see if I can pick up anything to give us an idea of their location." Felicity commented as Oliver leaned over her shoulder to read the letter too.

"How do you know it's from them? There's no signature on it." Oliver pointed out.

"No, but you see the way the letter e's are written backwards, that's their signature, they do it with their own names too and left a note at every crime scene with it done that way. We never released that to the press so it can't be anyone else." Lance responded, worry evident in his voice.

"Have you contacted Sarah, do you still have a way of getting hold of her or Lauren? Sara asked Lance.

"Sarah and Lauren?" Oliver asked.

"Those are the new names we gave them, figured that if anyone heard us talking about Sarah or Lauren they'd assume they misheard and I was actually talking about my Sara or Laurel." Lance explained.

"Good idea." Diggle said approvingly as Oliver nodded in agreement.

Lance was surprised to note how much their approval of his plans actually meant to him. He realised he had come to respect their skills and value their strategic opinions more than he'd ever expected to.

"Yeah, we have a dead drop." Lance said answering Sara's last question.

"Good, you'll need to write a message that I can leave there warning them."

"No, that's my job." Lance argued with Oliver.

"It's not safe, they know where you live so they could be watching you Dad. Felicity can you tell if anyone followed him here?" Sara finished as Lance realised she was right. He could have been being watched and if so he'd led them straight here!  _Damn it!_

"Already checking and nothing so far."  _Apparently this mind reading thing is common to the whole team._  Lance thought as Felicity had started tapping away at her computers the minute Sara had started to say it wasn't safe.

"Sorry Sara but it's gotta be me. If she doesn't see me then Sarah will never show to check the drop." Lance persisted determined that he was going to be the one doing this.

"Fine, but I'm going with you." Sara insisted.

"No, that's just as risky, they may have seen you from before Sara." Oliver disagreed. "I'll go with him."

Sara went over to the sparring dummy and started hitting it hard, not arguing but clearly not impressed with Oliver's decision either.

"Write your message Detective and we need all the details of the dead drop so we can plan the drop." Oliver ordered.


	6. Dead Drop

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always thanks go to Rennie75 for the beta - all mistakes are mine though.
> 
> Disclaimer: Ho hum, CW own Arrow still - Rennie we need to wish a little harder on that star hun!

_"Write your message Detective and we need all the details of the dead drop so we can plan the drop." Oliver ordered._

_**Lance's POV** _

After a lot of fast planning, recon, and intel gathering from the satellite images Felicity had brought up Oliver and Lance had left the lair to head to the dead drop. Oliver was geared up as the Arrow and had gone on his motorbike, whilst Lance had driven there in his car. It was hoped that Felicity and the others would be able to spot any tails that either of them picked up over the traffic cameras. (Lance had given up being surprised at the things Felicity had 'access' to ever since Sara had explained that almost everything with a computer chip could be accessed by Felicity if she so chose.) Hopefully that way they would know if Lance had been followed to the lair in the first place.

Sara and Diggle still weren't happy that they hadn't been able to scope out the drop site in person, but all had agreed that time was of the essence. There was simply no way to tell how long the Lee brothers could have been watching Lance before choosing to make contact. All agreed it could be a trap, that the message could have been left with the specific intent of making Lance contact Sarah and Lauren; but they also agreed that there was no choice. They had to be warned of the danger and this was the only way they had of warning them.

Lance still found it strange how he now deferred to the expertise of the kid (and his own daughter for that matter) on strategic and planning issues. But despite his many years on the force it was obvious that their experience far exceeded his own in such matters, galling though that was to admit. From the occasional looks he'd noted on Diggle's face it was clear that he both understood and sympathised too. Lance figured it couldn't be easy for a guy who'd been Special Forces to be in that position either!

Lance went forward toward the Mail Boxes Etc Office just close enough to trigger the camera that would notify Sarah a drop had been made for her. He then retreated back to cover of the alley leaving Oliver to make the actual drop alone as they'd agreed – much to his annoyance. Lance  _did_ accept without question that Oliver and the others were in a different league to him when it came to experience, but this was a simple dead drop – something he had done more times than he could count over his years as a cop. He really didn't need Oliver to do that for him!

"You came to us for help remember Detective." Oliver answered the question he hadn't even given voice too – again.

"Yeah, for help to capture these guys before they kill anyone else, not to make a simple dead drop." Lance grumbled in response.  _This mind reading thing is really starting to get annoying._

"Sara would kill me if I let anything happen to you." Oliver replied with a slight smile. Lance couldn't help but wonder if Oliver was being slightly serious though, despite the smile.

"All clear so far, I'm about to make the drop." Oliver said and it was clear he was speaking over the comms for the benefit of the Team back at the lair.

"Be careful Ollie, these guys are good." Sara warned.

"Always am." Oliver said before going into the Mail Boxes Etc office to leave the drop itself.

"Still can't believe you thought a  _Mail Boxes Etc office_ was a safe dead drop location Dad!" Sara commented in an exasperated tone.

"Focus on the job please Sara, you can ball him out later." Oliver said before Lance had a chance to respond himself.

"Cameras still showing all clear." Felicity confirmed. Clearly she was of the view that anything else could wait for later too. Lance had to admit he wasn't looking forward to that later – none of the Team had been impressed when he'd revealed the location of the dead drop.

Before he could follow that line of thought any further though, sounds of intense fighting came over the comms.  _So much for not needing help with a simple drop!_

"Oliver! What's happening?" Felicity asked instant concern evident in her voice. Oliver didn't answer though and that was worrying in of itself. Especially as Felicity had said the cameras were all clear and apparently that hadn't changed, otherwise she would have known what was happening.

"I'm going in." Lance reported as he left the relative safety of the alley and ran towards Oliver, gun drawn in readiness.

As soon as he got within sight of Oliver however he realised that shooting would be out of the question for, as usual, Oliver was fighting with an almost inhuman speed. Lance was simply not sure enough of his aim at that speed to risk firing so he re-holstered his gun before joining the fight. Both the Lee brothers were there attacking Oliver with knives whilst he fought back using the bow like a staff of some sort or something.

Almost immediately however Lance was confused by the way that Oliver seemed to be slowing down and was struggling to hold the brothers off. Oliver's movements appeared to be sluggish and his reactions slightly delayed for some reason – and they were getting worse. Lance had witnessed the Arrow fight (and had to sort out the destruction left behind) enough times to know that the Lee brothers were no match for him - and yet, despite that, it was evident that Oliver  _was_  struggling.

"We need back..." Lance got no further than that before dropping to the ground, a fresh knife wound to his arm taking his breath away.  _Drugged blades_  his mind registered dimly as everything around him went dark. All the Detective could hear was a dim whistling sound as he passed out.


	7. Capture

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING – this chapter does include torture, more or less in line with that shown on the show. If you are at all sensitive please exercise caution.
> 
> Thank you for all the kudos & support!! Rennie75 has done her usual fabulous job of beta-ing, despite the real world attempting to get in the way - thanks hun! All mistakes remain mine though :-P
> 
> Disclaimer: Usual stuff – Arrow is owned by CW in it's entirety.

" _We need back..." Lance got no further than that before dropping to the ground, a fresh knife wound to his arm taking his breath away. Drugged blades his mind registered dimly as everything around him went dark. All the Detective could hear was a dim whistling sound as he passed out._

_**Lance's POV** _

Lance came round to find himself tied to a metal chair in a dingy warehouse. As he gradually regained his senses he became aware of his name being said repeatedly.

"Oliver?" He asked confused. "What happened?"

"The Lee brothers were already there, the blades of their knives were coated in some kind of drug." Oliver answered succinctly, sounding pretty angry.

Lance couldn't blame him, he wasn't too impressed with their situation either. Drugged blades, that was a new one on him. Now that Oliver had said it though Lance could remember thinking something about the blades being drugged just as he'd passed out.

Lance looked around him, assessing the situation even though he was sure that Oliver would have already done the same.  _Doesn't hurt to be thorough._  Oliver was hanging from a sturdy looking chain in the middle of the warehouse to the side of Lance's position, his feet just barely touching the floor. There were no windows that Lance could see and only one door. Which meant that whilst there was only one way out, there was also only one way in too for any guards/lowlifes the brothers had working with them.

The only other things he could see in the warehouse were a small table and a second metal chair which were both on the other side of Oliver to Lance. The table had something on it but it was currently covered with a blanket so Lance couldn't make it out what it was. The chair was placed near the table although that chair was empty at present.

Lance couldn't see anything else in the warehouse so his gaze returned to Oliver. Whilst he seemed to have multiple cuts on his torso and arms, none of them appeared to be too deep so Lance wasn't that worried about them. What he was far more worried about however was the fact that Oliver's hood and mask were missing, there was now nothing concealing his identity. He knew from personal experience just how protective Oliver was of his identity and Lance wasn't sure how he was going to react to it being revealed. Lance also noted that Oliver's jacket and shirt had been removed. Before he could get a chance to say anything else to Oliver though Oliver's head suddenly turned towards the door. It took a few more seconds before Lance could also hear the footsteps that Oliver must have reacted to.

Shane Lee came in with a smile on his face that instantly had Lance worried. He knew how twisted both of the brothers were so seeing him smile like that was concerning.

"Well well so what do we have here – the Detective working with the Arrow - a criminal who apparently is none other than Oliver Queen! Doesn't your family have close ties with the Queen family Detective? Wonder what other secrets you're hiding along with your _criminal_  connections Detective – oh no wait you're not a Detective anymore are you. Busted down for working with the Vigilante wasn't it?! Just how far do you think they'll bust you down this time  _Officer_  Lance."

"Go to hell." Lance replied refusing to be riled by Shane Lee's predictable attempts to get a rise out of him. Even though there were more ties and connections than Lee could possibly realise between the Lances and the Queens, the odds of him discovering them was almost non-existent. Besides if either Lee brother did somehow find out then they would be going up against both Oliver and Sara in angry mode – and the rest of their Team for that matter. Lance knew he had nothing to worry about there.

"How do you think the DA would feel about that information  _Officer_?" Shane sneered. "Of course, that's nothing compared to all those men who will go free when their attorneys find out that the cop who convicted them is bent. Now just how many people would that be again  _Officer_  Lance?!"

Lance knew that Shane had a point, but right now it was something he couldn't do anything about. He was also aware that Shane was just trying to get him angry and talking so that he could get the information he truly wanted out of Lance.  _Just how green does he think I am?_

"Okay enough messing around." Devin Lee said as he entered behind his older brother. "Time for some real fun. It's quite simple Detective, I mean  _Officer_  Lance, you stole Karen and Lisa from us. That was a mistake and now you have to pay for that. Tell us what we want to know and you can make it easier on yourself though. Where are they?!" Devin finished ominously.

Lance stayed silent, he wasn't going to give them an opening, any opening at all. He was relieved to hear Devin still using Sarah and Lauren's former names and hoped that meant the brothers didn't know their new ones.

"Don't feel like answering questions? That's alright Lance, means I get to have more fun with your friend here." Devin Lee looked over at Oliver with an evil look on his face. "So you're the Arrow then ... Oliver Queen is the Arrow. You've killed a fair few of our friends Oliver, so now it's time for you to pay too."

Devin walked over to the table and grinned at his brother before turning back to face Lance and Oliver as he pulled the blanket off the table. _Shit!_  Lance immediately looked at Oliver, but the kid gave no reaction to the car battery now displayed on the table along with a set of leads and crocodile clamps.

The look of pleasure on Devin's face as he'd revealed the car battery was truly disturbing. Lance looked to Oliver for direction on what to do next. Much as he knew he had to protect Sarah and Lauren he couldn't just sit here and let them do this to Oliver. He had dragged Oliver into this after all. Oliver just stayed blank though, not reacting to the sight at all.

"Oh, and just in case you don't think we're serious here's a little taster for you  _Oliver_." Shane sneered as he threw a bucket of water over Oliver, while Devin dragged the table close enough for the leads to reach him. He connected them up before touching the clamps to Oliver's arm and chest. Devin shocked Oliver for a few seconds before stopping and replacing the clamps on the table. He was laughing along with his brother as they both walked towards the door.

Shane stopped just before he left the warehouse and turned back saying "We'll give you a little while to think on things _Officer_ so you can figure out which life means more to you – theirs, or his." He finished with a pointed look at both Oliver and the table.

"Not a word Detective." Oliver growled out the order as soon as the brothers were out of earshot.

Oliver was panting slightly, but apart from that he gave no sign of the pain he'd just experienced. Lance couldn't believe that Oliver had barely even made a sound whilst being shocked.  _How on earth could Oliver do that?_

"Are you okay?" Lance said, concern and worry clear in his voice.

"I'm fine Detective. You just make sure you don't give them anything to go on." Oliver ordered, completely disregarding what had just happened to him.

"What if it gets too much though, if you can't take any more? Oliver it's  _my_  fault that you've been caught up in all this, I can't just sit back and watch them do that to you, watch them  _torture_  you!" Lance said letting the distress he was feeling show through into his voice.

"Yes you can  _Detective_!" Oliver insisted emphasising the moniker and Lance realised he was reminding him of his job, his duty as a police officer. "You have an oath to keep, a duty to protect that information and you  _will_ keep it. I will not be responsible for those lives being lost because the brothers found out where they are!"

"What about your life Oliver?!"

"My life doesn't count." Oliver replied bluntly. "I made a choice to do this just as you made a choice when you became a cop."

Lance nodded. He agreed about the duty part. But he seriously disagreed with the part about Oliver's life not counting. For that matter he didn't truly agree that Oliver had made a choice either. Oliver hadn't known what would happen when he'd gone on that damn boat. He hadn't chosen to be marooned on that island for five years. Oliver hadn't chosen all the things he would go through there.  _Not that he's told me much about what the hell did actually happen there!_

However, Lance realised that whilst Oliver hadn't chosen any of that, he  _had_ chosen how he would deal with all those things, how he would react to them – and he  _had_  chosen what he would do, what he did, once he made it back to Starling City.

"So I'm just supposed to sit here and watch them torture you?!" Lance said incredulously. Much to Lance's surprise Oliver didn't seem to be even slightly fazed by the thought of what the Lee brothers had promised was to come, by what Devin had already done.

"Yes Detective, silently. You will not breathe a word to them." Oliver ordered. "They will not be finding out where their victims are now." He finished, growling the rest of the order.

Lance noticed that Oliver wasn't using Sarah's or Lauren's names even though he knew them. He realised that Oliver wasn't taking any chances on the brothers finding out even the smallest amount of information about their new identities.

"And what if it's too much for you?" Lance repeated his earlier question with genuine concern.

"That won't happen." Oliver replied sounding incredibly certain.

Lance realised once again that Oliver wasn't bragging, he was simply being honest. Lance couldn't understand how Oliver could be so very sure of himself when they were stuck in this position – especially when that the car battery had just been used on him, had been purposely left in full view of them both – and yet, somehow, Oliver  _was_ that certain he wouldn't break.

"Because I've survived far worse than they can ever imagine." Oliver said without elaborating and it was clear the matter was closed.  _Again with the mind reading!_

Lance nodded going quiet. Thoughts of just what the hell  _had_  Oliver gone through to make him not the slightest bit daunted by the promise of electric shock torture, or by what Devin had already done to him, went through Lance's head. Yet just one look at the kid's face so full of determination, his body covered with the evidence of his past, was enough to convince Lance of the truth of Oliver's words.


	8. Find Them Felicity!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rennie75 thank you so much for sorting my typos & mind-blanks, & one rather big omission! All mistakes remain mine :)
> 
> Thoughts & unspoken conversations are in italics :-)
> 
> Thank you all so much for your kudos & comments, means the world to me guys!!! :-D
> 
> Disclaimer: Still owned by CW, sigh! Just playing in their sandbox.

_"Because I've survived far worse than they can ever imagine." Oliver said without elaborating and it was clear the matter was closed._   _Again with the mind reading!_

_Lance nodded going quiet. Thoughts of just what the hell had Oliver gone through to make him not the slightest bit daunted by the promise of electric shock torture, or by what Devin had already done to him, went through Lance's head. Yet just one look at the kid's face so full of determination, his body covered with the evidence of his past, was enough to convince Lance of the truth of Oliver's words._

_**Diggle's POV** _

After hearing the sounds of fighting Diggle had already been half-way out of the lair door before Lance had started to request back-up, Sara half a dozen steps ahead of him. Despite trying multiple times, neither Felicity, Sara, nor he could raise any response from either Lance or Oliver.

He broke every speed limit and ignored every red light, Diggle knew that Oliver wouldn't go silent on the comms, on Felicity unless he was forced to. Lance had told him he could run all the reds he wanted all that time ago after all – and he figured now was another good time to take Lance up on that offer.  _Especially as Lance is in trouble too._ Sara was as tense as anything as she sat next to him, but didn't say a word and he knew she was going into professional mode and shutting down her feelings.

But despite Diggle's best efforts, by the time they made it to the Mail Boxes Etc office Oliver, Lance, and the Lee brothers were gone. All that was left behind was the mess the fight had caused. Sara stayed inside scouting aroound for any hint of information she could find, whilst Diggle went back outside to do the same. He just hoped that they would find something, anything, to give them a clue as to where Oliver and Lance had been taken, but with no success.

"Felicity, you there?" Diggle had already checked the comms on the way over but they needed to verify if they had been blocked in that area, or if Oliver and Lance had been unable to respond for some other reason.

"Did you find anything?" Felicity asked not any wasting time.

"Nope, they're not here, there's no sign of them Felicity." Diggle replied. "We're heading back."

"Felicity what happened?" Diggle queried once they'd got back to the lair. He tried to school his voice to neutrality as he spoke, he could see from the tension in her body that Felicity was on edge enough as it was. Even with all his training though Diggle was finding it hard to keep a damper on his emotions. It was plain from everything that Lance had told them that the Lee brothers were masochistic psychopaths and Oliver had been through so much already, the last thing he needed was more torture. Looking at Sara he could see that she was thinking along similar lines, he was just glad she was keeping quiet about them.

"I don't know! The cameras were all clear – are all clear! Someone must have hacked them." Even over the comms the panic was clear in her voice.

"Without you knowing?" slipped out before Diggle could stop himself. Felicity missing something connected to her precious computers was just so unusual. One look at her face though showed him how much of a mistake it had been to say that.  _Damn it, she feels bad enough as it is without you making it worse!_  Diggle admonished himself.

"It's okay Felicity, let's just focus on helping them now. We'll figure out what went wrong later. Can you track Oliver still? Sara said quickly.

Diggle was grateful to her trying to remove the quickly building tension and panic in spite of the fact that she was clearly just as concerned about her father as they were about Oliver. He caught her eye and nodded very slightly to indicate his thanks.

Felicity nodded, also thanking Sara without needing to use words. "The tracker in the comms and their cells are dead but I've still managed to activate the tracking chip in Oliver's boot. The signal's being bounced off multiple towers but I'm narrowing it down.

"Good, keep working on that. I'm going to go over Lance's records on the brothersto see if we can get any clues from that. Lance didn't mention they had any computer skills, right?" Diggle queried.

"Sara, you take your dad's private notes, you'll probably understand his shorthand better than us." He instructed, relieved when she immediately went to do as he'd said without querying. Diggle knew that Sara would generally accept Oliver's orders, but he hadn't been sure how she would react to his.

"No! Nothing like that! There was no mention of either of them having any kind of tech skills, let alone what they'd need to bounce the signal around or hack the Mail Boxes' cameras.. _ **.**_ " Felicity answered his question quickly and it was evident how annoyed she was at being beaten – even temporarily – at her own game.

Diggle spared a thought for the Lee brothers. After all, going up against Felicity was never a good idea, especially when it came to her computers, and these guys had not just done that but had got between Felicity and Oliver. If they hadn't deserved it so much he would almost have felt sorry for them for breaking  _both_  of the cardinal rules of Team Arrow. As things stood though Diggle figured they deserved everything they got!

"We'll have to check into that, it may be they have someone working with them. But for now focus on narrowing down their location okay Felicity." Diggle instructed her calmly.

"On it." She replied grimly.

Diggle smiled wryly seeing her expression.  _They deserve it._

The lair was quiet for a while, each of the three focused on their respective tasks.

"Yes!" Felicity shouted pumping her fist in the air exultantly. "I finally bypassed the last of their networking cloaking and rebound protocols used to mask their internet protocol..."

"Felicity." Normally Diggle would have let her go on a bit longer before stopping her but, having gone through Lance's case notes, he was painfully aware that Oliver and Lance were probably being tortured as they spoke. Every moment they wasted Oliver's and Lance's injuries were getting worse. Diggle and Sara both started grabbing the gear they had already prepped for the rescue mission as Diggle continued talking, neither willing to waste a second.

"So you know where they are?" Diggle spoke gently trying to let her know that he hadn't meant to be short with her, but needing clarification as she'd managed to lose him in her tech speak yet again.

"Yeah, right. They are in a warehouse on the edge of the Glades and what is it anyway about warehouses in the Glades because it seems like every time someone captures Oliver and wants to hurt him they find another abandoned warehouse in the Glades. Of course I don't actually know that they are there just that Oliver's boot is there but there's no reason he wouldn't still be wearing his boot right I mean..."

"Felicity!" Diggle knew that the more nervous Felicity was the worse her babbles were, but they  _really_  did not have the time for this right now.

"Right, sorry, again. I'm sending the address to your cells right now and I'm hacking the surrounding traffic cams so hopefully I will be able to give you intel on the warehouse. But guys, if they're broadcasting a dummy signal again then I may not be able to break it in time." Felicity warned.

"Got it." Sara said, already half-way up the stairs.

"Bring him back John, bring them both back safely okay." Felicity said quietly to him as Sara left the lair.

"I will." Diggle just hoped that he wasn't lying to Felicity and that they would still be 'fine' for them to bring back.  _No need to tell Felicity that though._  Diggle caught sight of her face briefly just before going out the door and he realised that even though he hadn't given voice to those worries Felicity had shared them anyway.  _Sometimes this Team mind reading thing really isn't so useful._

* * *

**AN: OK so I must apologise for the tech spiel Felicity gives, I don't have anywhere near the tech knowledge needed for that so had to google and fudge some stuff together – forgive me if it's wrong! If any of you do have this kind of technical know-how & would be willing to provide a line or two occasionally then please let me know? As always I live for the comments & kudos - thank you!**


	9. Rescue Part 1

**AN: Just want to say a big thank you to you all for your support! Rennie75 is my wonderful beta & support, without you this wouldn't work cariad, thank you! All mistakes are mine.**

**Disclaimer: Same as ever - CW own Arrow.**

* * *

_"Bring him back John, bring them both back safely okay." Felicity said quietly to him as Sara left the lair._

_"I will." Diggle just hoped that he wasn't lying to Felicity and that they would still be 'fine' for them to bring back. No need to tell Felicity that though. Diggle caught sight of her face briefly just before going out the door and he realised that even though he hadn't given voice to those worries Felicity had shared them anyway._ Sometimes this Team mind reading thing really isn't so useful.

_**Lance's POV** _

Lance looked at Oliver, waiting for him to agree the brothers were out of earshot before saying anything. Over the past day they had been in and out multiple times. Shane had done most of the questioning whilst Devin had continued to torture Oliver. Lance had taken a few solid blows of his own and suspected he had a couple of cracked ribs to go along with the black eye and split lip.

But it was Oliver who had by far taken the brunt of the abuse. It was clear the Lee brothers were taking a perverse pleasure in making Lance watch Oliver's torture. Devin had taken it as a personal affront that Oliver barely made a sound to start with and Lance figured a great deal of Devin's sick enjoyment came from hearing his victim's screams of pain. When that victim refused to make a sound or even show his pain, Devin had quickly become mad and gone on to far worse and more sustained punishment than he had for the brothers' previous victims.

Every time Shane and Devin left Lance had waited for Oliver to confirm it was clear before speaking. He knew Oliver's senses were far more acute than anyone else's – except perhaps Sara's. Oliver continued to insist he was 'fine' and that he'd 'known worse', repeating his order to stay silent in what Lance now thought of as his Arrow growl.

This time though Lance was more worried about the young man. Devin had taken Oliver down from the chains and strapped him to the metal chair while Shane had stood with a gun to the back of Lance's head "just in case Oliver got any funny ideas". Devin had then thrown another bucket of ice cold water over Oliver before continuing with the torture. This time he had shocked Oliver enough to finally elicit screams of agony which had only fuelled the brothers' questions and taunts to Lance.

Lance had remained silent though, earning himself that black eye. What the brothers didn't realise was that Lance knew help was coming. He didn't know  _how_ Felicity would find them (and doubted he'd understand it even if she did explain) but he knew she would be able to do it. That Team was closer than anything he'd ever seen in all his years on the force and, even if he hadn't known Sara so well, he would still would have been certain their rescue was coming.  _Just hope Oliver can hold on that long._ Lance thought grimly.

Oliver had been close to unconsciousness again when Devin had finally stopped on Shane's order. His head was lolling sideways and he was projecting an air of defeat and agony which had Lance scared.  _How much can the human body take – even Oliver has to have a limit?_ He knew though that if he spoke now then everything Oliver had gone through this day would have been for nothing and Lance refused to devalue his sacrifices like that.  _Really hope I'm doing the right thing here. Come on Sara, where are you?_

Oliver's head snapped up then and his entire body language changed. Gone was the air of defeat.  _Oliver had been faking it?!_  To say Lance was surprised would have been an understatement. He had known Oliver far longer than the Lee brothers had and he had been fooled, so it was no wonder they had been taken in by Oliver too.  _Guess his acting skills really are way better than I gave him credit for!_ Lance thought with a sigh of relief.

"You okay Detective?"

Oliver's question startled him.  _Oliver was just been shocked beyond what any normal person could surely take and now he's asking if_ I'm  _okay?_

"Me, what about you?!" Lance replied stunned.

"I'm fine Detective – and the brothers just made their second big mistake." Oliver said with a ghost of a grin on his face.

_Second, wait, hadn't realised they'd made a first – apart from crossing Felicity but I doubt that's what he meant somehow._

"I have a tracker in my boot." Oliver elaborated somehow knowing Lance's thoughts yet again.

"Your boot?"

"Yeah, people always remove the Hood and jacket, but nobody seems to go near my boots so it seemed like a sensible place to hide one."

Lance had to admit he couldn't fault the younger man's logic.  _If there was a tracker then that meant computer signals, which meant Felicity – yeah that was definitely a mistake then._

"And the second?" Lance queried having already figured out he wasn't going to work it out on his own. He had always thought his reasoning and deductive skills were pretty good, but Oliver's Team – well they operated on a whole other playing field.

"Unchaining me." Oliver replied simply with a definite grin this time.

"So, you're strapped to the chair instead now, what difference does that make?" For the life of him Lance couldn't see how zip ties made any practical difference to chains.  _At the end of the day we're still restrained, what does it matter how?!_

"Zip ties can be broken, that chain couldn't. You ready Detective, Diggle and Sara will be here in five minutes so it's time to go."

"How in the hell do you know that?!" Lance said disbelievingly. He knew the Team had this whole mind reading gig going on (which apparently applied to reading his mind too even though it didn't work both ways) but there was no way Oliver could possibly know how far away they were.  _Could he?_

"The lights." Oliver explained without elaborating further.

Lance had noticed the lights flickering on and off a few times in the last little while but hadn't realized there was anything more to it than that. Apparently he'd been wrong, again. Lance nodded simply, even if he didn't fully understand he knew that now was not the time for more questions. Lance still could not quite believe that Oliver would be able to break the zip ties however.  _Not in his current weakened state surely?_ Oliver might have been faking the air of defeat, but those screams had been all too real. Lance knew he would never be able to forget that sound.

The amazement showed on Lance's face seconds later when Oliver proceeded to do precisely what he'd said and break all four zip ties holding him to the chair.  _Why do I bother doubting anything he can do anymore?_

Oliver let out a gasp of pain as he pulled himself out of the chair. As he turned to check the door before coming over to Lance the reason became evident. Oliver had burns on his back and the skin was now torn and raw where the metal chair had pressed against his skin. Lance was sickened by the sight and vowed that Shane and Devin would pay for this. At the same time he was in awe of Oliver all over again.  _Anybody else would have been screaming in agony, unable to do a thing, but Oliver … all he does is_ gasp  _i_ _n pain before proceeding to assist in their own rescue?!_

Lance was struck anew by respect for Oliver. Only seven years ago he had been a drunken playboy, a frat kid always in trouble with the law who thought of no-one other than himself. Yet now it was obvious that Oliver thought of everyone except himself, his own pain not even relevant.

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**AN2: Sorry to leave you part way through the Rescue lol, hoping to have the second part up tomorrow if I can :) Like it? Anything you want to see? Please comment and let me know :-)**


	10. Rescue Part 2

**Chapter 10 – Rescue Part 2**

**AN: Rennie75 thanks for being the best beta ever & helping so much with the flow of this fic & your amazing support!**

**Disclaimer: Run out of different ways to say it, I own nothing except my mistakes, Arrow is owned by CW.**

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_Lance was struck anew by respect for Oliver. Only seven years ago he had been a drunken playboy, a frat kid always in trouble with the law who thought of no-one other than himself. Yet now it was obvious that Oliver thought of everyone except himself, his own pain not even relevant.  
_

_**Oliver's POV** _

"We won't have much time." Oliver warned Lance as he went over to him and snapped the zip ties holding the Detective in place.

Oliver checked him over briefly, needing to know if he had any injuries that would need to be taken into consideration. Cracked ribs, he noted seeing the way that Lance protected his side as he got up out of the chair.  _Will need to get them checked out later to make sure it was only a crack, but for now he should be fine._

"Sara will be coming in a side entrance or window while Digg comes through the main entrance. Keep an eye out." Oliver instructed. While he severely doubted that Lance would see or hear them before he did it was important for him to be aware of where they were likely to be coming from - and which direction to go in for help if Oliver was taken down.

Oliver knew his own injuries were bad, he could still feel the electricity sparking through his veins every so often and he knew it would be some time yet before that stopped. He did a brief inventory of his other injuries as they were going towards the doorway. Oliver had already kept track during the interrogations, but now that he was moving he knew he could become aware of others and couldn't afford to be caught out by something he hadn't allowed for. Such a mistake could cost lives and he had no intention of explaining to Sara how her father was killed because of his carelessness.  _She's going to be pissed enough at me as it is!_

Oliver could tell he had multiple cracked ribs; cuts on his body both from the original knife wounds and from some Shane had inflicted while Oliver had been chained; bruising too numerous to list; and cuts on his face including a split cheek and lip to match Lance's. Nothing that was going to stop him right now in other words, although those burns were going to take their time to heal he remembered. At least he would be able to deal with them at the lair and prevent the risk of infection this time – unlike on the Amazo.

They had made it through the initial doorway and a fair way down the corridor before encountering the first guard.  _Shane and Devin have been sloppy and that will be their undoing,_ Oliver thought grimly. He dispatched the guard easily enough, avoiding the bullets by parkouring off the corridor walls to change his angle of attack. Apparently the only training this guy had had was of the 'point and shoot' variety.

Oliver was still wary though. Whilst everything at the warehouse pointed to amateur hour, the attack at the dead drop certainly had not. Broadcasting dummy signals good enough to fool Felicity, using drugged blades – those were definitely  _not_  signs of an amateur. Plus both brothers had shown some signs of training during that initial fight. Not a lot, but enough that in conjunction with the drugged blades they had been able to take him down and that concerned Oliver. He knew that he'd be asking Felicity to run an extended background and associates search on both Shane and Devin once they made it back to the lair.  _Something else is going on too,_ Oliver suspected.

Oliver and Lance were about to go round the next corner when they heard sounds of fighting up ahead. Almost instantly it was accompanied by a crashing of glass from above and Oliver looked up with a smile knowing that it would be Sara – which meant that the fighting up ahead was Diggle.  _So much for five minutes, they're early,_ he thought with a small smile.

Sara passed Oliver his bow and quiver before embracing her dad strongly if briefly. Ignoring the look from Lance and the pain in his back Oliver immediately strapped the quiver on. Regardless of the pain it caused, he instantly felt more relaxed and in control. His bow was like an extension of his own body and whilst he didn't need it to fight, it certainly helped!

The three of them made their way towards Diggle, Sara having informed them that the plan was to rendezvous with him before heading out together.

"We didn't know what kind of a state you'd be in so decided it was best for John to cause a distraction while I found you." Sara said.

Oliver nodded, they'd done just as he'd expected, as he would have planned it himself. He could see Sara looking them both over as she assessed their respective physical conditions.

"Nothing that can't wait until we get back." Oliver answered her unspoken question. He could see Lance's pointed look at that but it was the truth, while painful the burns weren't in need of immediate treatment and neither were any of their other injuries. Sara glared at Oliver seeing her dad's look, but Oliver just nodded at her confirming his previous words. Sara looked at him for another few seconds before nodding herself in acknowledgement, he knew that she understood he would always put the mission first – her father's rescue – and wouldn't risk compromising it by masking injuries.

_**Lance's POV** _

They made it the rest of the way without any real difficulties, dispatching the remaining guards with ease – especially now that Oliver had his bow. They moved in tight formation keeping Lance in the middle, whilst not happy about this he accepted that Oliver was out in front to maximise his effectiveness with the bow. Lance noted however that despite that Sara was bearing the brunt of the hand to hand fighting, a fact that he was sure hadn't escaped his daughter's attention either. No matter what Oliver had said to Sara this had Lance worried. He had never seen the Arrow or Oliver back off from a fight before and he knew that Oliver was hurt far worse than he was letting on to Sara.  _That quiver on his back has to be causing him no small amount of pain either!_

Oliver was still fighting without hesitation when needed, but he was staying back and dispatching the guards with an arrow instead wherever possible. Lance was surprised to note that despite all that had been done to him Oliver was still doing his best to take out the guards without actually killing them.  _Not sure that I'd be able to have that much restraint,_ Lance admitted to himself.

They met up with Diggle who was holding something in his hand that Lance couldn't quite see to start with, but it was clear that Oliver had recognised it – and he was happy to see whatever it was.

"Found this in the office with Shane and Devin, thought you might want it back." Diggle said casually holding up what Lance could now see was Oliver's Arrow Hood jacket. Considering the look of relief mixed in with that happiness it was plain it was far more than just a jacket or a way to disguise his identity. Lance was intrigued by that and filed it away as something to ask about later.

"You found the brothers?" Oliver queried

"They're secure Oliver..." Diggle held up a tazer as he continued speaking. "...as we'd discovered they play dirty we decided to bring some unexpected tricks of our own this time."

Oliver nodded his thanks. Knowing that they were captured, that they wouldn't be getting at Sarah and Lauren any time soon was a big relief for Lance – and for Oliver too he suspected as he saw Oliver smiling at Diggle and Sara in what Lance could easily see was gratitude.

"Detective you wanna call in your guys and get this taken care of? We weren't sure who could be trusted after what you said about a leak before." Diggle passed Lance a cellphone.

"Thank you, I know some guys who weren't on the force last time so couldn't have had anything to do with the leak – and  _thank you_ , I'm no good at this emotional talking stuff, but you saved us, again, and I won't forget that." Lance finished knowing it wasn't enough, but it was all he could say.

He made the call before handing the cell back to Diggle. "All sorted, SCPD will be here in about 5 minutes – transfers and guys who weren't in the force back then only. One of them has a contact inside Sarah's and Lauren's local PD so she's going to call and arrange for discreet protection until I can get them sorted somewhere else."

"That's a good idea Detective." Oliver said approvingly. "Digg, where there any computers or anything with the brothers? We need to know how they knew where the dead drop was and planted that dummy signal. Also, they have some fight training, somebody else is behind this and victims won't be safe until we track down and take out whoever it is."

"Don't worry man, Felicity's already on it. I have the only computer I could find in my bag along with their cellphones." Diggle answered and Lance was relieved to see they had been thinking along the same lines too.

Lance looked at his watch and knew their time was running out. "Okay, now that's sorted can we get out of here and get Oliver's burns sorted out,  _please_? SCPD will be here any minute and you need to be gone before that happens." Now it was over and they had the intel they needed Lance wasn't prepared to let Oliver go any longer without the medical help he required, he knew that protecting his identity was one thing important enough to Oliver to make him leave.

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**AN2: Love it, hate it, something you want to see? - Let me know in your comments and I will do my best, thank you! :-D**


	11. Return to the Lair

**Chapter 11 – Return to the Lair**

**Thanks for continuing to support me with this & as ever the biggest thanks go to Rennie75 for keeping me going & being the best beta EVER!**

_**As ever, thoughts, memories, and unspoken conversations are in italics.** _

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Arrow, sigh. CW do.**

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_Lance looked at his watch and knew their time was running out. "Okay, now that's sorted can we get out of here and get Oliver's burns sorted out, please? SCPD will be here any minute and you need to be gone before that happens." Now it was over and they had the intel they needed Lance wasn't prepared to let Oliver go any longer without the medical help he required, he knew that protecting his identity was one thing important enough to Oliver to make him leave._

_**Lance's POV** _

They had all left the warehouse after that, with Oliver and Lance following Diggle to the car. Initially Oliver had wanted to stay behind to keep watch until SCPD arrived to ensure that no-one escaped. He'd had no intention of letting Sarah and Lauren be at risk again. Whilst Lance truly appreciated that and respected Oliver's dedication, he had no intention of letting him wait any longer for medical treatment. Once Sara and Diggle had seen Oliver's back they had agreed with Lance too.

"I'm staying, there's no way I'm going to risk the brothers getting away again." Oliver insisted.

"You stay then you are going to be the one explaining to Felicity why we didn't come straight back man!" Diggle responded and Lance was amused to see that he wasn't jesting. It was still strange to him how all three were scared of the petite blond and refused to cross her.  _Sooner or later I'm going to find out why that is._

"Fine, we'll go, you stay behind though Sara. Somebody has to ensure they don't escape now." Oliver agreed, backing down at the threat of having to explain to Felicity.

Lance quirked a smile at that, but decided not to say anything. If that's what it took to make Oliver leave then using her as a threat was fine by him. Sara readily agreed to stay behind, she had come on her bike so she wouldn't have been in the car regardless. Lance embraced her again, wincing as she caught his ribs.

"Sorry Dad." Sara was quick to apologise. "John, make sure he gets them checked out okay." She ordered before dashing off to keep watch over the warehouse.

Oliver winced as he removed the quiver and Lance could see that the adrenaline Oliver had been running on was ebbing now. He just hoped they would be able to get him back before the younger man collapsed.

"Don't worry about me Detective, I'm fine." Oliver said with a poor attempt at a smile that quickly turned into a grimace as he leant back against the seat after getting into the car.

Lance wasn't convinced, Oliver's definition of 'fine' definitely did  _not_ match his own! He decided it was a good sign however that Oliver was still trying to reassure him and was with it enough to do so.

"Contrary to appearances Oliver really does know his limits Detective." Diggle said. "Even if his version of 'fine' seems to differ from everybody else's." He finished with a wry smile.

Lance wondered if that was yet another example of the Team's mind-reading skills, or if this was something that they'd disagreed on previously.

_**Mixed POV** _

Diggle waited until they were the distance away from the warehouse that Felicity had specified before switching the comms back on and letting Felicity know that both Oliver and Lance were safe. He passed an earpiece to Oliver, knowing that she would need to hear his voice before she would believe he was okay.

"Oh thank goodness are they okay is he okay is anyone hurt I knew you would be able to get them did you find the brothers or get their computer is Oliver okay...?" Felicity answered Diggle not knowing that Oliver could hear too.

Oliver found himself smiling as Felicity's relief turned into babbling as usual. "Felicity, I'm okay, Lance is okay. Diggle took out the brothers and has their computer and cellphones so you don't need to worry about anything." He knew that she wouldn't stop her babbling until she heard him and he need to reassure her.

"Felicity, you need to get the medical supplies out please, we have a few injuries here." Diggle said, hating to cause her distress but knowing she would only be madder if they didn't tell her until they made it back to the lair.

"Injuries, what?! You said you were okay Oliver!" Felicity said angrily, the fear clear in her voice.

"Relax Felicity, we just need a little patching up okay." Oliver said.

Lance noted that although the pain was clear in Oliver's face he still managed to keep it out of his voice. Yet again he was amazed at how selfless Oliver could be. Even now when everything was over he was still protecting others, his Team, protecting Felicity.

"Okay..." Felicity agreed, unsure but willing to be pacified slightly for now.

Even without having seen the damage on his back, Oliver could tell from the faces of Lance, Diggle, and Sara that it must be pretty bad. His pain levels were rising as the adrenaline left his body which made him more aware of how bad the injuries must be.  _Felicity is definitely going to be mad at me again and ball me out over my definition of 'fine'!_ Oliver grinned suddenly, remembering when he had told her that when it came to complicated he graded on a curve.  _Maybe I can convince her that this should apply to my definition of fine_ _too?_ But even as he thought it Oliver knew his chances of winning that argument were slim to say the least.

They made it back to the lair to find Felicity standing waiting for them in front of her bank of computers. All of the medical supplies were out ready, Felicity had taken no chances it appeared and had simply prepared for any and all injuries. Oliver was amused to see that even the portable defibrillator unit was on view; admittedly it was to the side instead of in the middle of the treatment area, but it was still there. It seemed Felicity had yet to forgive Oliver for the amount of times he had crashed on her.  _Not that I can blame her I guess._ Oliver thought wryly.

_**Lance's POV** _

"Who's hurt?" Felicity said instantly while they were still coming down the stairs. "Where's Sara?"

Lance was touched to hear the concern in her voice as she realized that Sara wasn't with them.

"She's fine Felicity. She stayed to wait for the SCPD to make sure that nobody got away." Lance answered knowing that she would believe him not to underplay things when it came to the condition of his own daughter - especially not after he'd spent six years thinking that he had lost her.

Felicity nodded acknowledging Lance before asking "So what's the damage?"

"A few bruised and cracked ribs – Lance needs an x-ray to check his aren't broken – a lot of bruising, some cuts, and some burns." Oliver reeled off.

Lance was not surprised to note that Oliver had classified all the damage to his back as simply 'some burns' even though he still couldn't see  _why_ it was that Oliver did that.  _It's not as if Oliver can hide it from Felicity after all, or is it that he really does see all_ that  _as just 'some burns'? Has he really been hurt so many times now that he no longer sees his injuries for what they are? Is he really that used to being hurt?_

Lance was overwhelmed with sadness for Oliver and for everything the young man had been through – even if he didn't truly know what most of that had actually been still. Lance could clearly see the evidence it had all left behind now that Oliver wasn't hiding behind one of his many public persona. Now Lance could really see the man under the hood – and he was far more in every way than Lance had ever realized or given him credit for.

While Lance had been thinking, Felicity had pulled out a portable x-ray machine and was now beckoning for Lance to go over to her. He did as she requested knowing that it was always best to check damaged ribs for possible fractures, remembering as he went about the damage to Oliver's ribs too.

"Oliver will need his checking too, he took more blows to the ribs than I did." Lance stated bluntly, ignoring the look Oliver sent him. If Oliver wasn't going to look out for his own medical care then Lance would just have to do it for him  _\- and if that means telling Felicity so she can force him into taking care of himself then so be it._

"Oliver?!" Felicity questioned, the threat clear in her voice.

"They're fine Felicity, mostly bruised, with two cracked but nothing broken." Oliver replied much to Lance's bemusement.  _How can he possibly know that?_

"After five years of being your own medical care you get pretty good at telling when things are bruised, cracked, or actually broken." Oliver explained before Lance even had a chance to phrase the question.

_I'm gonna stop bothering to even open my mouth around these guys pretty soon – it's not as if they actually need words!_ Lance decided, partly impressed, partly annoyed and frustrated.

"All sorted, SCPD got them all." Sara announced as she came down the stairs.

Oliver turned as she spoke, affording Felicity her first look at his back. She was horrified at what she saw, at the same time as being angry with him for not telling her the truth.

"Oh my gosh Oliver! I thought you said it was just some burns?!"

"They  _are_ just some burns Felicity. I'm fine, really." Oliver insisted.

"We are  _so_ going to have to work on your definition of 'fine' Oliver." Felicity replied, clearly still angry with him.

"Hey I run around in a costume shooting arrows at bad guys, after surviving five years on an Island whose name means Purgatory, so when it comes to injuries I grade on a curve." Even though Oliver was sure she wouldn't be convinced he'd decided it would still be worth a try,  _just to see her response,_ he thought, deliberately ignoring Diggle who was rolling his eyes at him.

"Oliver, that argument might have worked when it comes to 'complicated', but it is so not going to work here." Felicity informed him bluntly.

Oliver backed up, hands raised in front of him in the universal sign for surrender – much to Lance's amusement.

"Okay, okay I'm sorry Felicity. But to me they  _are_ just some burns. I've had far worse Felicity." Oliver attempted to explain.

"Okay Oliver you have  _got_ to stop using whether you've had far worse before as a gauge of how bad an injury is." Felicity insisted irritably.

"She's right man." Diggle agreed and Lance found himself nodding in agreement too.

"Sara?" Oliver said looking to her in hopes of getting at least her support on this one.

"Hey leave me out of it!" Sara said with a small laugh which was immediately made worse by Oliver's glare. "Besides, if you think I'm going up against Felicity you are sorely mistaken." Sara finished with a grin to Lance after giving Felicity a nod of respect.

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**AN2: Please let me know what you think guys :) Thank you!**


	12. Team Arrow

**Chapter 12 – Team Arrow**

**AN: I want to give all of you who have supported me throughout this fic the hugest, biggest thank you ever! This chapter is for you all!**

**Disclaimer: Really – do I still have to say it? I don't own Arrow, the CW does.**

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_"Sara?" Oliver said looking to her in hopes of getting at least her support on this one._

_"Hey leave me out of it!" Sara said with a small laugh which was immediately made worse by Oliver's glare. "Besides, if you think I'm going up against Felicity you are sorely mistaken." Sara finished with a grin to Lance after giving Felicity a nod of respect._

**_Lance's POV_ **

Oliver pouted at Sara's response much to Lance's surprise, but it became clear within half a second that he was only playing. Lance realized that Oliver was simply trying to lighten the mood and ease Felicity's worry by showing her he was okay in and of himself, even if physically that still wasn't true.

"Coward!" Oliver glared playfully at Sara as he spoke.

"Wise move." Diggle said under his breath, but clearly intending for everyone to hear him still.

"I thought so." Sara responded grinning at Diggle before looking back at Oliver. "I might be hard to kill, but that's because I have such a strong sense of self-preservation and it's far too strong to go up against Felicity for you Oliver!"

Sara grinned at Lance as she finished, letting him know without the need to speak that this was their version of normal. Lance had seen the way SWAT teams and the like had messed around after missions to let off steam and he realized that this was what they were doing too. He might not have expected it, in fact it had completely surprised him to start with as he had never seen this other side of them, but he was relieved to see it as he knew how much damage the stress of missions could do to people and to teams as well – especially when people had come back injured, or worse. So to see them blowing off steam in this way made Lance relax too, even if he was still amazed that Oliver, in particular, could act like this when he was injured so badly.  _His back must be hurting something fierce too now that the adrenaline's worn off._

"Okay, playtime's over." Felicity announced in a stern voice that was completely belied by the grin on her face too. "Yes they do always mess around like this Detective, it's their way of letting off steam." Felicity had answered the question he hadn't even asked –  _yet again_.

"So, your back has  _some burns…_ " Felicity said sarcastically "…you have two cracked ribs plus bruised ribs, I can see some cuts too, what else Oliver?" Felicity asked making it clear that playtime genuinely was over, even if they were all still a lot more relaxed than they had been when they'd first made it back to the lair.

"I have knife cuts and burns on my torso and my arms too, as well as bruising, of course, some of which you can see already. Apart from that and the ribs I have no other injuries, so not too bad this time. I haven't noticed any after effects from whatever the drug was that they used but we should still run a blood panel to check. Detective, have you noticed anything?" Oliver finished by asking.

"No." Lance answered shaking his head at the same time. Truth be told it hadn't even occurred to him to think about side effects or after effects from the drugged knives, he'd been too distracted and caught up in everything else that had been happening to even consider it. But now that he did, Lance couldn't think of anything that could be due to them. He agreed with the wisdom of running the blood panels regardless however.  _Better to be safe, especially as we don't actually know what the drug was that they used on us._

"Sara, you want to do the x-rays?" Felicity asked.

Lance remembered Sara saying that she'd learnt a lot about medical science whilst she was 'away'. Although looking at Felicity's face he suspected that that wasn't the main reason she'd asked Sara, it was pretty clear that she was offering them a way to be together whilst still dealing with the medical care that was needed. Lance was grateful to her for her thoughtfulness and the unspoken gesture.

He continued to be amazed by the way that, despite the work that they did, Felicity retained her gentle heart. Instead of becoming hardened and disenchanted by the things that Team Arrow dealt with, it seemed that she was the actually the one keeping the rest of them from being cold and distant. Lance had noticed how Sara was gradually becoming more open with the additional time that she spent around Felicity. Thinking about it Lance realized that Oliver had become more open since he was shot by Moira – which was when Felicity had become a part of the Team properly he now knew. Felicity was the one who had turned them into a real Team.

"Thank you." Lance said quietly to Felicity even though he now knew that Sara and Oliver would have heard him regardless. He'd learnt that they both kept quiet about the things they heard that weren't meant for them unless they had no choice in the matter – something for which he was very grateful.

"Sure, do you want me to do Oliver's blood work first?" Sara queried even as she left Oliver's side to walk towards Lance.

"I've got it Sara, you sort your Dad out." Oliver answered first.

Lance realized that he must have learnt a fair bit along about that kind of stuff along the way too, even if it appeared that a lot of what Oliver and Sara knew was different. Sara had said they hadn't been together for a lot of the time, but hadn't elaborated on it and Lance hadn't wanted to risk pushing her. He noticed that as Sara and Felicity walked past each other they touched each other's arms squeezing briefly for less than a second and he understood that this was another part of the unspoken communication that the Team used.

Oliver sat down on a stool leaning forward onto the medical table as Diggle got to work on his back. Lance watched for a few minutes, wincing alongside Oliver as Diggle worked to clean up Oliver's back.

**_Mixed POV_ **

"Dad, you okay?" Sara asked gently, gradually bringing Lance back out of the mini trance he hadn't even realized he'd gone into.

"Huh? Yeah, sure. I'm fine honey." Lance said distractedly.

"Hmm, you've been hanging around Oliver too much Dad. His definition of fine is starting to rub off on you." Sara spoke, knowing that comment would bring her Dad back to her more completely. She smiled when she was rewarded with a glare in response proving that he had finally heard her properly.

"Sorry, I was just … never mind." Lance had been back there in the warehouse again in his mind. He was struggling to clear his head of the sights and sounds of Oliver being tortured, being shocked, as he watched Diggle dealing with the damage it had caused, but he didn't want Sara to have to know everything that had happened. She'd been through so much more than enough as it was, there was no need for her to know all the details from this as well. He allowed her to position him for the x-rays as he spoke, following her gentle guidance willingly.

"It was a car battery wasn't it." Sara stated, making it clear she wasn't actually asking a question as she indicated Oliver's back with a nod. "You were there?"

"Yeah. How d'you know?" Lance wasn't completely sure he wanted the answer but needing to ask it anyway.

"Because I recognise the burns." Sara spoke sadly. "You'll know by now then that this wasn't the first time that Oliver has been shocked." She waited for her Dad to answer even though she hadn't phrased it as a question.

The last thing Sara wanted to do was talk about this, to have to remember the Amazo, but she could see the haunted look already in her Dad's eyes and she knew that he needed to talk about it - whether he wanted to or not. Sara hoped that by letting him know that she'd heard Oliver's screams from that too, that he would feel able to talk to her about it and not feel he had to hide it. She knew first-hand how much damage burying that kind of thing could do to you and Sara wanted to protect her Dad from that as much as she could.  _If I have to talk about my memories, my past, in order to protect him then that's what I'll do._

Lance nodded. He wasn't sure why he was surprised that Sara had recognized the burns. When he thought about it, it was hardly surprising that she had been there with Oliver before. It was still painful for him to accept all of the things his little girl had been through,  _even if she's not so little anymore,_ all the things that he hadn't been able to protect her from.

"That first time … I wasn't there with him. But I was on the other end of an open radio signal. He was being punished for something that wasn't even his fault – and at the same time it was being done to force me into sacrificing another life to save his. Just like the Lee brothers were trying to force you to do." Sara said, knowing instinctively how important it was for her to make that comparison between the two situations. Her Dad needed to know that she understood, that she knew what it felt like to be in that position.

Sara looked sympathetically at her Dad as she talked, keeping her voice low and quiet while moderating her tone so that just a small hint of emotion was allowed into it - enough to let him know that those events had affected her, but without letting him know just  _how much_  they had affected her.  _He doesn't need to know the damage that has been done, or the choice that I had to make in the end, the life I had to sacrifice._

She glanced once briefly at Oliver as she spoke and could see the tension in his shoulders at what she was saying. Sara knew that he could hear her, even if she wasn't sure that the others would. Sara hated that she was revealing all of this without his prior agreement, but knew that he would understand, even if he didn't like it either he would agree with its necessity. She saw Oliver give the slightest hint of a nod, too small for anyone else to notice, and knew that he was giving her his blessing, signalling his understanding so that she didn't need to worry about it.

"Did he scream this time Dad? He did that first time. Oliver hadn't learnt how to clamp down on pain in the same way he has now back then. I will never forget the sound of those screams." Sara looked down as she spoke, not willing to risk eye contact with her Dad in case he saw more than she wanted him to.

"Not to start with. Not for ages actually. Just at the end he let go, before pretending to pass out so they'd leave. I thought he was out cold for real, but it was all an act." Lance spoke in stilted sentences, still back there in his mind in many ways.

"The screams were real though. It was just that he stopped clamping down on them." Sara said, understanding what Oliver had done. "He knew we were coming so he needed the brothers out of the way to get free."

"Yeah." Lance replied, the query clear in his voice even though he didn't ask any question.  _How'd she know that?_

"It's what I would have done." Sara responded, not needing her Dad to actually phrase the question to know what he was thinking. "And now you're wondering how to get it out of your mind, to get those sounds out of your head. But as much as I want to tell you there's an easy answer to that, you already know that there isn't." Sara paused for a few seconds, waiting for her Dad to nod to show he understood and accepted what she was saying. Once he did she continued speaking.

"I still hear his screams now in some of my nightmares, see the way he looked afterwards. I can't tell you how to get that out of your head – but I can tell you what not to do. You can't try to run from this Dad. You can't block it away. You need to deal with it, to accept what happened – and you already know the only way to do that is to talk about things." Sara paused, taking a steadying breath before continuing.

"I know this isn't the kind of thing you can bring up in your AA meeting, but you can talk to me, to Diggle and Felicity, you can talk to Oliver. We will all listen, we all have demons of our own too. The best way to move on is to not bury things. They never stay buried anyway."  _Pot kettle!_ Sara couldn't help thinking as she spoke, she was an expert at burying things only for them to keep coming back to haunt her again and again.  _But maybe I can help stop him from making the same mistakes._

_**Lance's POV** _

Lance nodded understanding what she was saying and he knew that she was right. He'd tried burying things in the past before only for them to come back and bite him. That's what he'd done when the boat had gone down – when he'd believed Sara was dead – and it had resulted in the break-up of his marriage and him becoming an alcoholic. Much as he knew that talking was going to be hard for all concerned, he understood its necessity. One of the hardest lessons he'd had to learn in AA was that it was only through accepting the things that have happened that you can move on from them.

Looking at Sara and Oliver, Lance realized that that was a lesson they still had to learn themselves in many ways. It was clear that they both still had a lot of things trapping them in their respective pasts.  _Maybe by talking I can help them to truly learn that lesson too._ Lance hoped, knowing that it would be hard but that he was prepared to do it anyway. There was nothing he wouldn't do to help his daughter – or to help Oliver either he now knew.

Two years ago he had hated Oliver Queen and believed him to still be the spoilt trust fund brat who he thought was responsible for his daughter's death. Now he knew better. Oliver still didn't always make the best decisions and was prone to blaming himself for everything that went wrong. He held himself up to impossibly high standards and was completely willing to sacrifice his life for others. No matter what happened, what was done to him, or how badly he was hurt Oliver never gave up, never quit. He had given up his right to a real life in the effort to right his family's wrongs and save the city, and it was only down to the efforts of Diggle and Felicity that Oliver actually had a life, had friends of his of own now.  _Oliver truly is a hero._

Lance knew that there were still many questions to answer, some new like all the ones they still had about the case, others were old ones that Oliver had never answered,  _and probably never will_. But Lance finally understood that those questions, his questions didn't matter anymore for now he wasn't asking those questions alone. Now Lance was part of something bigger, something more than any of them alone – Team Arrow!

* * *

**AN2: Yes that was the end of this fic. I may write a sequel in the future if I feel it's appropriate but honestly don't know yet. Please be kind enough to give me your final thoughts on this chapter & the fic as a whole, your comments help me to improve & write better so they really are valuable to me!**

**Shameless plug – if you want to read more of my work then please do check out my other fics 'Questions' and the main one I'm currently working on 'The Island'. Thank you!**

**Author's Note:**

> AN3: Thanks for coming and reading my fic, I really do appreciate it! Please let me know what you think, if you like it then don't forget to fav & follow, and as always reviews are truly golden and keep me writing! If you have any suggestions on what you'd like to see next please let me know. I don't promise to include them but I will definitely consider them :) Thank you!


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